Disclaimer: I don't own anything owned by Tamora Pierce or Cate Tiernan. Any similarities to other stories are purely coincidental and non- intentional.

Reviewers:

Rainfall: Yes, Tristan was the hugest jerk on the planet in my last chapter...tell me what you think of this one. Personally (and I'm really not fishing for compliments) I think this one is awful beyond belief. Thank you for reviewing again!!!!!

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Ch. 4:

Eos stalked around the Scancran castle, with fire blazing through her hazel eyes. Maids in the hall took one look at her obviously lethal fury (as she was carrying her most magickal dagger openly) and ran. Coming into the courtyard, Eos walked up to Shanie, who was seated primly on a cushion while the lord and another man grunted and wrestled on the floor. Shanie, not noticing Eos's prescence, clapped her hands gaily and ran up to the winner with a kiss and her favor. The man, however, pushed her away as ice blue eyes glinted. "Shanie. No. I told you, I'm not bedding my lord's leman." Shanie merely pouted, and retreated to her lord's side. For his ears alone, Shanie whispered, "Someday you'll be mine." Then Geoffrey, Lord of Caer Mach, was dragged away with a flash of dirty blonde hair in sunlight.

Eos advanced warily up to Tristan, already experiencing one of the side effects of the necklace that she had started noticing a while ago-she could occasionally feel his emotions still. Not particularly happy, she unknowingly looked at him with her Goddess look. "I believe you wished to speak to me?" Tristan merely nodded, and they walked together into the stable. Eos turned around, and a myriad of emotions touched her. Hurt, most prominent. Tristan had been pure arrogance and evil last night. Confusion, that she would even give him a chance to be forgiven. Anger, that he would dare to speak to her so. And a slight tinge of fear...fear of the necklace. Then his emotions hit her. Extreme anguish, pleasure, fear, grief, rage...love. Eos looked at him for a moment, then decided not to inform him that she could feel his emotions like she could Darkan's because of the necklace. They could talk about the love later.

Eos blinked, and almost smiled. While she had been obviously encased in her thoughts, Tristan had managed to put them both on horses, and lead her horse to a beautiful view of dark forests, shining rivers, and bright stars in a unfathomable sky. Instead of smiling, she got off the horse and Tristan followed her. They hiked in silence for about two miles, then Tristan swung her around and hugged her. He said against her hair, "I'm so...so...sorry. I don't know why I did what I did, I don't know why I turned into that person, but I never meant to hurt you or humiliate you like that." They stood there, Eos absorbing his apology and then simply hugging him. She looked up at him with eyes turned silver by the moon. "I can't completely forgive you, but I can start." Tristan smiled slowly, and Eos felt overwhelming happiness spill over to her. Unbidden, an alien thought came to her. *It's just like a dog. Throw them a bone and they're happy, but kick them once and they cower.* Eos, frowning, shook away that thought. Tristan tipped her chin gently, and smiled. "Thank you, songbird." Then he strode quickly away, leaving Eos with her thoughts and a black, star filled night.

The next day, Darkan went up to talk to Tristan. "Something's wrong." Tristan blinked. That tension that had been there all summer was suddenly gone. "What?" Impatiently, Darkan replied, "I think someone or something is manipulating us. Eos and I found a manuscript, and as we were translating it from the Old Mystar rather painstakingly, we eventually began to form the hypothesis that," here Darkan looked almost uncomfortable, "we're fighting over Eos."

Tristan stared at Darkan, then started to smile. "So we're like two stags going at each other for a doe."

Darkan, beginning to find humor in it, said wryly, "A doe that can kill the two stags if she gets mad enough, yes."

Tristan looked at Darkan thoughtfully. "You might actually be on to something there...but are we fighting over her for the normal reasons, do you think? Or do you think it's for something else?"

Darkan stared hard at Tristan. "The first thing a Guardian learns is that there is a Goddess Elect or usually a Protectorae, somewhere out there. The bond between the Guardian and the Protectorae is of the soul; it is said that such a bond is never matched. However, I later found out that there can be...a very special circumstance. It is fordained that there will be a special Protectorae that will have two Guardians because of her power. Protectorae being the normal woman in need of protection for divine purpose, and in our happy case, Goddess-Elect. The one and only most powerful, awe-inspiring, beautiful person to ever come into our lives."

Tristan looked curious. "So what happens with the two Guardians? Supposing your theory is correct and all."

Darkan's eyes widened as he received one of Eos's increasingly prolific telepathic messages. "As Eos happens to describe it, we do the classic macho thing and bash each other until one of us gets tired to having our skulls mashed together and decides to make it easier on the both us and just flop over and die." Tristan looked at Darkan with a slightly alarmed expression, then began to laugh. Catching the humor of the situation, Darkan's mouth quirked up in a slight smile before he began to laugh as well.

"Goddess, I never laughed this much before I met Eos." Upon hearing this comment from Tristan, Darkan's features immediately hardened and they resumed their coiled tension within each others' presences.

From her scrying pool, Eos sighed and worked on translating the manuscript.

~-~

Mithros looked down at the mortals and surprisingly, he smiled. [Our new Goddess has a gift for paraphrasing. I love it. We must introduce her to the badger god.]

The Goddess laughed softly, then replied, [That would be stirring up trouble. But we need to watch this closely-they are so close to the truth. If they get it at the wrong time, this could all come crashing down on us.]

[Yes. But she has more than enough wisdom to see the right path, I see that now. She simply has to learn to tap it. Can you imagine? Millennias of waiting, of collecting knowledge. Years even beyond ours.]

Unbidden, a comment from long ago inserted itself in the Goddess's mind. [Makes you kind of wonder if she has faults, doesn't it? Beauty, power, inner strength, skill; she seems to incorporate everything mortals and immortals alike strive for.]

The Goddess and Mithros both smiled.

~-~

Tristan and Darkan were both sitting on the soft sheepskin, patiently waiting for Eos to come out while they commented the changes made to her household within the weeks that Eos had been there. Stone walls were scrubbed clean of collected dirt, wax, and dust; dirty rushes on the floor had been replaced. Several enchanted chandeliers and candle holders were strategically placed to keep fumes away from the hall, while a large fireplace was set in the middle as to provide heat and light in the night. Tristan said with eyes watching for any hints of Eos, "In all, she could make some nobleman very happy. If she doesn't knock his head inside out first."

Darkan responded thoughtfully. "She's been very careful. She's done nothing but extremely subtle magic, nothing showing that she ever went to Carthak or dressed in silks and pearls for months. There's absolutely nothing I can find in that hall that distinguishes it from any other well- run household." Tristan frowned at the reminder of his initial reasons for taking Eos to Carthak. "That was a different time, and a different place. Of course she would slip away."

Before Darkan could respond, Eos walked in and sat down elegantly on another sheepskin. With a deeply inquisitive look in her eyes, she said, "Have you two discussed the rest of the manuscript yet?"

Darkan only shook his head, reminding her that she hadn't shown them her translated version yet. Eos quickly drew some unknown symbols in the air that glowed the multi-layered colors of her unique magic before the symbol flickered out, only to be replaced by a piece of parchment.

Sorry for such a short chapter, my teachers have decided that it's project simultaneous week. YAY. Please read and review!!! (And flames too, I like tips on my work. Please, please no pointless criticism.)